In order to prevent a child from having an accident with a cigarette lighter (which term is intended to cover such a device which can be used to light anything) it is standard to provide a latch arrangement that makes it difficult for anyone who does not know not to use the lighter to get a flame out of it. Typically a neutralizing mechanism is employed which must be moved from a blocking to a freeing position in order to be able to operate the standard operating lever or element.
This type of lighter is known in particular from German Utility Model 8,802,582.9. Nonetheless in all these lighters a neutralizing means is not set up so as to be automatically returned to the actuatable neutralizing position after actuation of the igniting mechanism.
In commonly owned patent application 07/651,332 filed Feb. 7, 1991 by Marcel Floriot (now U.S. Pat. No. 5,090,893 issued Feb. 25, 1992) a lighter is described having on which is provided a reservoir containing the gas in liquid form a head comprising in addition to the burner valve connected with the reservoir via a pressure reducer an igniting mechanism comprising control means for opening of the burner valve and means for making sparks and in which associated with the igniting mechanism is means for neutralizing this mechanism and displaceable between an active neutralizing position for the igniting mechanism and a retracted position, these neutralizing means being displaceable manually by the user from their active position to the retracted position. The neutralizing means of the igniting mechanism is normally maintained in the neutralizing position and is in addition set up so as to be automatically returned to the neutralizing position after actuation of the igniting mechanism.
The action to operate such a lighter is not so complex that a clever child cannot figure it out and overcome the childproofing. In fact just holding the device in two hands, as a small child would normally do, will often push in the blocking element enough to allow the sparking lever to be operated.